Arizona silver belt., 1887-03-26
POLITICAL INRsPBNDESCE AND PARTX
OBLIGATION,

NAIlSul IL NeAtu BECAUSE CERTAIN uGHt~
bers of the 14th Legislative Assembly
refused to be either cajoled or coorced
into torsaHiug the interests Of their
constituents and blindly following
the leadership of men whose alter egoIs
"rule or ruin; and because Of their
independence il would read them out
Of the Democratic party The writer
Of the article in question refers to
Speaker Webb, Of Maricopa, Trippel,
of ella, and Scott, of Pima, as weak
kneed democrats" and, consequently,
is impressed with the necessity of
"striet party discipline, withoutnam-
ing the mentors who are to politically
leven the minds of those of independ-
ent thought and action.
To be a democrat does not imply
Seryilty, but the very Opposite--the
equality of freemen. 1T is from this
point of view that universal suffrage
and the rule of mere numbers, with
out regard to possessions or other
conditions, has been proclaimed as
sslf-evident consequence of the dem,
ocratic principle"-the ideally perfect
form Of government.
The de TOequeyilles of the party fear
that Independence of thought is be-
setting evil of democracy and, there
fore, should not be eountsnanesd,
Hence the desire of the author, in
question, for a strlcter discipline of
those who prefer to think for them
selves, In this connection it is we'll,
perhaps, to enquire the names of the
proposed disciplinauans, their quail
ticatioRs 10 instruct in political ethics,
as well as their authority to dragoon
others, before submitting to the die
tatiOn Of this minority whose idea of
government does mot rise above self,
or the almighty dollarj and who, be-
cause it's to their interest, have schools
ed themselves into the belief that the
democratic party fails in an essential
particular, when 1t refuses to recog-
nize the Prescott Courier's ayariciou8
scribe's idea, of the New Jersey i'm
portation, that 'the tail shoald wag the
dog"
His reference to Trippsl and Scott
a. kindergarten statesmen" was in.
tended as sarcasm, but fails Of appEi-
cation, in view of the historical rec
ollectlon of the great achievements Of
young men, and suggests the action
of "the gun that was aimed at duck or
plover, which kicked and knocked the
owner over" Very many distin-
guished ulen, whose names live IN the
history OF the world, attained emf
nence when young IN years. Daniel
Webster, at the age Of thirty, was
elected to Congress and Immediately
took rank with the foremost men at
the National Capital Henry Clay,
one Of the most popular statesmen Of
his day, came into prominence at once,
upon his election to Congress, at the
age of thirty, and four years after
wards was chosen Speaker Of the
House. Andrew Jackson, the apostle
of democracy, was appointed solicitor
OF North Carolina (ofwhieh Tennessee
was then a parD at the age Of twenty
one, and at thirty was elected U. s.
Senator. William Pitt is a eonspicu-
GUS example of precocity, his genius
and ambition having been displayed
at remarkably early age. At twenty
two years Of age he entered Parlia-
ment, at twenty-three was appointed
Chancellor Of the Exehequer, and at
t@enty-four made Prime Minister
Of England, Napoleon Bonaparte
achieved distinction, as a military
commander, at the ago of twenty-six.
1t was on the 4th ofOctober. 1898,
that the National guard, 10000 strong,
attacked the Tuileries, where the
Council was then sitting, and only by
the bravery and skill Of Napoleon
were the rebellious guards routed
and dispersed; and in recognition Of
this service he was made commander
of the army of the interior.
The abuse of these party dema-
gogues is far preferable to their praise,
and SHOWS that the records of Webb,
Trippsl, Scott and their associates
in the Legislature-who refused to
submit to party dictation, where the
intsrests of their constituents were
impsriled, are unimpeaChable; and
those whom they represented wlll
not fail to recognize and reward them
for their vigilance in guarding the
peoples interests and defeating nefa-
rious schemes concocted and intro
duced by the administration party.
Speaker Webb, Of Maricopa, and Scott,
of Pima, are both commended, by the
newspapers Of their respective coun-
ties, for their independence of action
and devotion to the interests of their
constituents. The Star, the demo
cratic organ of Southern Arizona, in
mentioning the return of represent
atiEe J. B Scott. sars.